What to Expect
On Friday, Speaker Nathan Cooper tweeted that he had received notice from the Government House Leader of the 2023 sessional calendar. MLAs will return to sitting on February 28 and sit until March 30 (unless Members vote to rise earlier). The sessional calendar can be found here.
While it has been speculated that the budget would be introduced on February 28 with the start of the legislative session, the budget release will likely be a few days after to accommodate the later start.
The spring sitting of the Legislature will be critical to the re-election prospects of Premier Smith. Addressing affordability, healthcare, and the economy will remain top priorities. Between now and then, expect high-profile, politically positive announcements of new spending that will be reiterated in the budget.
The Week That Was
The federal government has approved Alberta’s application to intervene in six ongoing lawsuits regarding the federal firearms ban as they pertain to constitutional and non-constitutional legal issues.
A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Alberta government and Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute to strengthen the job market by providing greater educational opportunities.
UCP MLA Pat Rehn has announced that he does not intend to seek re-election in the upcoming spring 2023 election.
The provincial government is working to lower Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response times and will be implementing the following changes based on discussions with frontline workers, municipalities and other EMS partners:
- Adding 20 additional ambulances during peak hours — expected to start rolling out in the spring in Calgary and Edmonton;
- Fast-tracking ambulance transfers at emergency departments by moving less urgent patients to hospital waiting areas, based on new provincial guidelines that are now in place;
- Freeing up paramedics by contracting appropriately trained resources for non-emergency transfers between facilities in Edmonton and Calgary; and
- Empowering paramedics to assess a patient’s condition on scene and decide whether they need to be taken to an ER by ambulance.
Orders in Council
OIC 1/2023 – Makes the following appointments to become effective January 18, 2023:
- Rae-Ann Lajeunesse as Deputy Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services
- Bryce Stewart as Deputy Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors
